Senior Database Reliability Engineer in London

Senior Database Reliability Engineer in London

London Full-Time 60000 - 80000 € / year (est.) No home office possible
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Manage and optimise database infrastructure using AWS and Terraform for reliability and performance.
  • Company: Join a forward-thinking tech company focused on innovation and collaboration.
  • Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible working options, and opportunities for professional growth.
  • Other info: Dynamic team environment with excellent career advancement opportunities.
  • Why this job: Be at the forefront of database engineering and make a significant impact on our systems.
  • Qualifications: Strong SQL skills and experience with AWS, Terraform, and CI/CD pipelines required.

The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 € per year.

We are looking for a Database Reliability Engineer to join our team. This is not a traditional DBA role β€” you are a DevOps engineer who happens to have deep SQL and database knowledge. You think in code, manage infrastructure via Terraform, and treat database provisioning, patching, and performance as an engineering problem β€” not a manual task.

You will own the database infrastructure layer across our AWS environments: provisioning, scaling, observability, and reliability β€” all through Infrastructure-as-Code. Our current estate includes SQL Server running on Windows EC2 instances. You will partner with application teams to ensure databases are correctly provisioned, optimised, and monitored without becoming a gatekeeper.

You Will

  • Provision and manage AWS RDS instances entirely through Terraform β€” parameter groups, subnet groups, IAM authentication, secrets rotation, multi-AZ, and read replicas.
  • Own database reliability β€” design runbooks, define SLOs, set up alerting on slow queries, connection pool saturation, replication lag, and disk growth.
  • Automate database operations β€” schema migrations, backup validation, failover drills, and patching via CI/CD pipelines.
  • Improve performance β€” work with development teams on EXPLAIN ANALYZE, query tuning, indexing strategies, and connection pooling (PgBouncer/RDS Proxy).
  • Secure the data layer β€” enforce encryption at rest/in transit, IAM database authentication, credential rotation via AWS Secrets Manager, and least-privilege access patterns.
  • Contribute to the platform β€” build reusable Terraform modules for database provisioning that application teams self-serve from the platform.
  • Participate in on-call rotation β€” respond to database incidents, drive RCAs, and implement permanent fixes to prevent recurrence.

Qualifications

Essential

  • Strong SQL β€” complex queries, performance tuning, indexing, EXPLAIN plans.
  • AWS β€” RDS Aurora, Secrets Manager, IAM, CloudWatch, VPC networking for databases, KMS encryption.
  • Terraform β€” writing and maintaining modules, state management, remote backends, version pinning.
  • Scripting β€” Python or Bash for automation, operational tooling, and migration scripts.
  • CI/CD β€” GitLab CI or equivalent; using pipelines for infrastructure changes and database migrations.
  • Observability β€” experience with Datadog, CloudWatch, or Prometheus/Grafana for database metrics and alerting.
  • Linux β€” comfortable with system-level troubleshooting in production environments.

Good to Have

  • PostgreSQL β€” deep knowledge: vacuuming, autovacuum tuning, replication (logical/streaming), pg_stat views, extensions.
  • PgBouncer or RDS Proxy β€” connection pooling configuration and tuning.
  • Kubernetes β€” understanding how workloads connect to databases, sidecar patterns, secrets injection.
  • Database migrations β€” zero-downtime schema migrations with tools like Flyway, Liquibase, or custom scripted approaches.
  • Financial services or regulated environments β€” familiarity with audit logging, data residency requirements, PCI DSS / SOC 2 controls.
  • AWS Aurora Global Database β€” cross-region replication, disaster recovery patterns.

MUFG is an equal opportunity employer.

Senior Database Reliability Engineer in London employer: MUFG Investor Services

MUFG is an exceptional employer that fosters a collaborative and innovative work culture, making it an ideal place for a Senior Database Reliability Engineer to thrive. With a strong focus on employee growth, we offer extensive training opportunities and the chance to work with cutting-edge technologies in a supportive environment. Located in a vibrant area, our team enjoys a healthy work-life balance and the unique advantage of contributing to impactful projects within the financial services sector.

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Contact Detail:

MUFG Investor Services Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🀫

We think this is how you could land Senior Database Reliability Engineer in London

✨Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in the industry on LinkedIn or at meetups. A friendly chat can lead to opportunities that aren’t even advertised yet.

✨Tip Number 2

Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repo showcasing your Terraform modules or database projects. This gives potential employers a taste of what you can do.

✨Tip Number 3

Prepare for interviews by practising common technical questions related to SQL, AWS, and Terraform. We recommend doing mock interviews with friends or using online platforms to get comfortable.

✨Tip Number 4

Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are proactive!

We think you need these skills to ace Senior Database Reliability Engineer in London

SQL
AWS RDS
Terraform
Scripting (Python or Bash)
CI/CD (GitLab CI or equivalent)
Observability (Datadog, CloudWatch, Prometheus/Grafana)
Linux

Some tips for your application 🫑

Show Off Your SQL Skills:Make sure to highlight your strong SQL knowledge in your application. We want to see your experience with complex queries, performance tuning, and indexing strategies. Don’t just list your skills; give us examples of how you've used them in real-world scenarios!

Talk Terraform to Us:Since we’re all about Infrastructure-as-Code, let us know about your experience with Terraform. Share specific projects where you’ve written and maintained modules, managed state, or implemented version pinning. This will show us you’re the right fit for our team!

Automate Like a Pro:We love automation! In your application, mention any experience you have with CI/CD pipelines, especially if you’ve used GitLab CI or similar tools for database migrations. Tell us how you’ve automated tasks like schema migrations or backup validations.

Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates. Plus, it shows us you’re keen to join the StudySmarter family!

How to prepare for a job interview at MUFG Investor Services

✨Know Your SQL Inside Out

Make sure you brush up on your SQL skills before the interview. Be prepared to discuss complex queries, performance tuning, and indexing strategies. Practising with EXPLAIN plans can really help you articulate your thought process during the interview.

✨Familiarise Yourself with AWS and Terraform

Since this role heavily involves AWS RDS and Terraform, it’s crucial to understand how to provision and manage instances through Infrastructure-as-Code. Get comfortable with parameter groups, subnet groups, and IAM authentication, as these are likely to come up in conversation.

✨Showcase Your Automation Skills

Be ready to talk about your experience with CI/CD pipelines and how you've automated database operations in the past. Highlight any scripting you've done in Python or Bash, especially for tasks like schema migrations or backup validation.

✨Demonstrate Your Problem-Solving Approach

Prepare to discuss how you handle database incidents and your approach to root cause analysis (RCA). Sharing specific examples of how you've implemented permanent fixes will show that you not only react to issues but also proactively prevent them.